Monday, May 28, 2012

More Results from Initial Beta Test (Qualitative)


Question 1: I want to help people
75% of students = Agreed

Question 2: I help my community
51% Agreed
35% = Neither agreed nor disagreed

Initial Qualitative and Methods results


 
Open Ended Questions
10 students 5th grade beta test to see how the teacher created instruments need to be reconfigured.
¡Question 1:  What is service learning?
¡90%
¡Students put answers indicating they did not know.
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “ IDK”
¡- “ I don’t know”
¡-  “ ? “
¡- “ I’m not sure”
¡10%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡-  “You teach and learn new things”
¡-  “Learning about services and how to do them.”
¡-  “When you learn about helping people in your community.”
¡-  “Where people gather together to learn.”
¡-  “Service learning is learning through the community.”
¡- “Learning from people who were in the Army.”
- “Learning to help serve your community.”
¡
 
¡Question 2: How does art help the community?
¡Four main themes came up from coding the responses for this question.
¡Theme 1: Art can raise money
¡30%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “It can raise money for charity.”
¡- “Children do art then sell them for money for the poor people.”
¡- “You can sell art and raise money for the community.”
¡Theme 2: Art can make the surroundings beautiful.
¡20%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “Art makes the community a better looking place.”
¡ - “Makes places look nice.”
¡- “Makes more color in the world.”
¡- “It makes it beautiful.”
¡- “It helps the community look beautiful and helps it tell a story.”
¡-  “It makes it pretty.”
¡- “Art can bring people and brighten up people’s moods.”
¡- “It makes people happy.”
¡- “It becomes more beautiful. It usually spreads a message and it may attract tourists.”
 
¡10%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡-  “You teach and learn new things”
¡-  “Learning about services and how to do them.”
¡-  “When you learn about helping people in your community.”
¡-  “Where people gather together to learn.”
¡-  “Service learning is learning through the community.”
¡- “Learning from people who were in the Army.”
¡- “Learning to help serve your community.”
¡Question 2: How does art help the community?
¡Four main themes came up from coding the responses for this question.
¡Theme 1: Art can raise money
¡30%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “It can raise money for charity.”
¡- “Children do art then sell them for money for the poor people.”
¡- “You can sell art and raise money for the community.”
¡Theme 2: Art can make the surroundings beautiful.
¡20%
 
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “Art makes the community a better looking place.”
¡ - “Makes places look nice.”
¡- “Makes more color in the world.”
¡- “It makes it beautiful.”
¡- “It helps the community look beautiful and helps it tell a story.”
¡-  “It makes it pretty.”
¡- “Art can bring people and brighten up people’s moods.”
¡- “It makes people happy.”
¡- “It becomes more beautiful. It usually spreads a message and it may attract tourists.”
 
¡Theme 3: Art makes people communicate and express emotions for themselves and the community.
¡16%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡“By inspiring.”
¡“It teaches.”
¡“By telling stories.”
¡“Communicate.”
¡“When people see it it makes them happy.”
¡“See from a different view.”
¡“It lets people see in a different way.”
¡“It gives people something to think about.”
¡Theme 4: I don’t know
¡34%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “IDK”
¡- “I don’t know”
¡- “Don’t know”
¡-   “ ? ”
 
¡Question 3: How can students help the community using art?
¡4 Themes from coding this data immerged:
¡Theme 1: Advocacy for charities and world issues
¡12%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡“Litter signs to keep charlotte beautiful.”
¡“Make art so people communicate.”
¡“They can pain/draw things that spread an important message like water conservation.”
¡“ Make pictures about important things.”
¡“For people who can’t read.”
¡“Using art to help save the environment.”
¡“Using art to let people know everyone needs safe places.”
 
¡Theme 2: Inspire / Make people happy
¡16%
¡“Drawing designing, showing how I am happy and creative.”
¡“Landscape and plant art can make people happy.”
¡“The art can inspire people to do something.”
¡“People can help other people make the art for buildings outside.”
¡“By drawing beautiful things to make people happy.”
¡“The art can make people feel happier.”
¡“By making inspiring art.”
¡“Making inspiring art so people can be happy.”
¡Theme 3: Raise Money
¡34%
 
¡Sample student responses were:
¡“ Selling the art.”
¡“You can sell art and raise money for the community.”
¡“Raise money for homeless people.”
¡“Sell it.”
¡“Students can help the community with art by raising money for charities.”
¡“Raise money.”
¡“Fundraisers.”
¡“Help people have things they have never had.”
¡“They can raise money to make the community a better place.”
¡“They can raise money with their art.”
¡Theme 4: I don’t know
¡38%
¡Sample student responses were:
¡- “ I don’t know.”
¡- “ ? “
¡- “IDK”
¡Response & Action to the Data
 
Existing Community Outreach
 
Visual Arts Center field trips and student art shows to
        interact with practicing artists in our community.
 
 Collaboration with Waste Management and our students
     working at the Empty Bowls Event with their families.
 
Student authored books distributed to the community about water conservation.
 
         Farmer’s Market booth student business run by families to
sell artwork
 
Pinwheels for Peace and Veterans Wall of Stars Projects
 on campus.
 
Collaboration with Local Artists to create Collaboration with Local Gallery
Student Inspired Art into Stained Glass to display and Sell Student Art
More Literature
 
Service learning has been shown to increase student ability to connect to community educational resources (Hutzel 2007).
One meta analysis of over 11,000 articles showed arts integration increased student’s ability to organize information, utilize observation, problem solving and communication skills (Mason, Steedly & Thorman  2008).
 
Students involved in these projects have been taught concepts such as: self and social awareness, self management, decision making and relationship skills (Russell & Hutzel 2007).
“The art classroom should be viewed as connected to, not separate from, the outside world” (Lawton 2010).
 
Students immersed in community arts based programs may use their art to tackle issues such as “social justice, environmental causes or empowering the disenfranchised” (Lawton 2010).
Qualitative Method
 
.  Logical Analysis uses a sequence of generalized causation.  I have attempted to use pictorial representations of the project components and our prior work with community partnerships.  I have created a survey and open ended questionnaire, reviewed the responses, coded, categorized and reported the results logically and with written descriptions of the insights and application of their findings.
 
Instruments
 
I created a rating scale survey and an open ended questionnaire for students to answer. These instruments I created were not normed or formally validated. I did not beta test prior to administration or have a focus group to test out the questions.
 
Reliability & Validity
 
The instruments I used were not professionally normed. They were teacher created and were not formally tested prior to administration. I did not beta test prior to administration. The test was valid to the extent that it measured what it was intended to measure.
There was no other data available to compare results so the reliability is unknown.
 
Rating Scale Survey
 
                   1= Disagree       2 =  Neither agree nor disagree      3= Agree
1.  I want to help people 1 2 3
2.  I help my community 1 2 3
3.  I have time to help others 1 2 3
4.  Art can tell a story 1 2 3
5.  Art helps people communicate 1 2 3
6.  I see art around town 1 2 3
7.  Art can raise money for charity 1 2 3
8.  I like learning outside the classroom 1 2 3
9.  I like field trips
1 2 3
10.  My community is important to 1 2  3
11.  My family and I go to the library 1 2 3

12.  I see murals around town. 1 2 3
Questionaire
 
What is service learning?
How does art help the community?
How can students help the community using art?
What is your favorite subject in school? Why?
 
Participants 
100 fifth grade students (ages 9-11)
14% ESE
57% Free or Reduced lunch
74% White
13% Hispanic
7% Bi-racial
6% Black
 
Limitations
 
-Time to complete project.
-No comparison between schools.
-No direct family usage data for library.
-  Instruments not being normed.
 
Funding the Project
 
I wrote a grant for $3,000 from SWFWMD to create murals to put in public spaces around town.  The grant paid for art supplies such as canvas, paint and signage.
 
The Process
 
I explained to students that mass communications can help us send a message to many people all at once.  We wanted to communicate a need to conserve water to our local community and we would be using art in public spaces to accomplish this task
Question 1: I want to help people
75% of students = Agreed
20% of students = Neither agreed nor disagreed
5% of students – Disagreed

Question 2: I help my community
51% Agreed
35% = Neither agreed nor disagreed
14% = Disagreed

Question 3: I have time to help others
35% = Agreed
40% = Neither Agree nor disagreed
25% = Disagree
Question 4: Art can tell a story
64% = Agreed
26% = Neither agreed nor disagreed
10% =Disagree



Question 5: Art helps people communicate
48% = Agreed
33% = Nether agreed nor disagreed
19% = Disagree
Question 6: I see art around town
74% Agreed
14 % Neither agreed nor disagreed
12% Disagreed
 
 
 
Question 7: Art can raise money for charity
82% = Agreed
10% = Neither agreed nor disagreed
 
 
Question 8: I like learning outside the classroom
44% Agreed
30% Neither agreed nor disagreed
26% Disagreed
8% = Disagreed